John Kerslake and Mary Ann Beedell

Mid Devon : Higher Pitt Farm
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Lewis Clarke - geograph.org.uk/p/3667038

John Kerslake married Mary Ann Beedell, in Tiverton, in 1880. The marriage record names her merely as Mary Beedle (sic), but on each of their children's baptisms, she's listed as Mary Ann and on each of the civil registrations of the births, her maiden name is Beedell (a name we've encountered before, when Temperance Southcott married her second husband, Francis Thomas Beedell.) So far, I haven't been able to find the births or parents for either John or Mary Ann to be able to establish the link (if there is one) between these people.

John and Mary Ann Kerslake had ten children: 

1. Jane Kerslake born 19 Mar 1880, bap. 4 Jan 1881 at St Peter's Church, Tiverton. Their abode at the time of Jane's baptism was Clayhanger.
2. Ernest John Kerslake born 5 Aug 1881
3. Alice Elizabeth Kerslake born 21 Jun 1883
4. Lewis William Kerslake born 16 Nov 1885, bap. 31 Dec 1885 at St Peter's Church, Tiverton. At that time their residence was in Burlescombe.
5. Albert Henry Kerslake born 6 Dec 1887
6. Edwin Beedell Kerslake born 2 Jan 1890
7. Geoffrey Kerslake born 1892. (Died aged 3 months and was buried on 29 Jun 1892 in Washfield.)
8. Florence Ellen Kerslake born 1894, bap. 2 Dec 1894 in Loxbeare. On this baptism, the family's address was given as Buttermoor Farm, Washfield, where John Kerslake was a Dairyman Farmer.
9. Manuel Charles Kerslake born 17 Nov 1900, bap. 24 Dec 1900 at St George's Church, Tiverton. Their residence at that time is listed as Castle Barn (Castle Barn Farm, Exeter Hill.)
10. Frederick Kerslake born 5 Nov 1902, bap. 4 Dec 1902 at St Peter's Church, Tiverton. Their address then was East Bicknell Farm, Cove. Once more John's profession is listed as Dairyman.

Mid Devon : Cattle Grazing
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Lewis Clarke - geograph.org.uk/p/3667023
Cattle grazing on a grassy hillside near Cadeleigh.

In 1881, John Kerslake (35) is a Farmer of 30 acres at Goldsmoor [Farm], Sampford-Peverell, with Mary Kerslake (25), Jane Kerslake (1), William Kerslake (4) Visitor and 'Eles' Biddle (13) Servant.

In 1891 at Higher Pitt Farm, Washfield, are John Kerslake (43) Farmer, Mary Kerslake (33), Jane Kerslake (11), John Kerslake (9), Alice Kerslake (7), Lewis William Kerslake (5), Albert Henry Kerslake (3) and Edwin Beedell Kerslake (1).

In 1894, five of the children were enrolled at Loxbeare Church of England School: Ernest John Kerslake, Elizabeth Alice Kerslake, Lewis William Kerslake, Albert Henry Kerslake and Edwin Beedell Kerslake. 

In 1901 at Castle Barn Farm, Tiverton, there are John Kerslake (55) Farmer, Mary A Kerslake (42), Jenny (Jane) Kerslake (21), William (Lewis William) Kerslake (15) Tailor's Apprentice, Edwin Kerslake (11), Florence E Kerslake (6) and Charles M (Manuel Charles) Kerslake (0).

With so many changes of address, I have visions of them driving their cattle almost incessantly around the narrow lanes of Devon!

John Kerslake, finally of Luttrell Farm, Bampton, Devonshire, died on 30 Nov 1903, leaving his effects of £271 5s (worth around £33,800 in 2021) to William Henry Beedell, Innkeeper. As yet, I don't know which inn he kept. One can perhaps assume that William Henry Beedell was a relative of Mary Ann's, but again, I've not been able to find out how they might be related. 

In 1911, Mary Ann Kerslake, Widow, Needle woman, was living at 1 The Works, Tiverton with Edwin Beedell Kerslake (21) Gardener, Florence Ellen Kerslake (16) School teacher, Charles Emanuel Kerslake (10) and Frederick Kerslake (8). Jane Kerslake (listed as Jenny) (29) was working as a Cook to the family of Henry William Gould, Solicitor, at Compass Cottage, Stoke Hill, Heavitree.

In 1939, Jane Bowden (Jane Kerslake had married Frank Bowden in 1917) Widowed, was living with her mother, Mary Ann Kerslake, at 1 Castle View, Tiverton. Mary Ann Kerslake (née Beedell) died in 1951, aged 93.

Tiverton : The Works
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Lewis Clarke - geograph.org.uk/p/3491779
The Works road in Tiverton with the Baptist Church Hall in view.

William Parsons and Mary Ann Stone

Barnstaple railway station
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Roger Cornfoot - geograph.org.uk/p/4256317

Mary Ann Stone, fourth daughter of Frederick James Stone and Loveday Jane Land, married William Parsons (b. 4 Jul 1882), son of John Parsons and Emma Burrows, at St Peter’s Church, Uplowman, on 19 Apr 1906, just weeks before her elder sister, Bessie Ann married there. Witnesses were the bride's father, Frederick James Stone and James Parsons, the groom's elder brother.

John Parsons was a carpenter in Bampton, where William was baptised on 30 Jul 1882 and, in 1891, lived at the Turnpike Gate Home, North Hayne, Bampton. William's father, John, died in 1894 and his brother James moved back home to support their widowed mother and grandmother. In 1901, William Parsons was employed as a Stockman on farm at Mill Head, Bampton, but by the time of his marriage in 1906, he'd become a Railway Platelayer, residing in Landkey.

William and Mary Ann had two children: 

1. William James Parsons born Q4 1906
2. Olive Mary Parsons born Q1 1908

In 1911, William Parsons (28) Railway Platelayer, Mary Ann (24), William James (4) and Olive Mary (3) were living at 2 Abyssinia Terrace, Barnstaple.

Unable to locate any of them on the 1939 census, I haven't [yet] been able to identify William's death. There is a record of a death of a Mary Parsons of roughly the right age, in Barnstaple, in 1966, but neither is this confirmed.

James Beamer and Mary Jane Snell

Old Toll House, Briton Street, Bampton
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Milestone Society - geograph.org.uk/p/6114414

James Beamer, son of James Beamer and Rose Anna Smith, younger brother of Alfred Beamer and half-brother of Loveday Jane Land and John Land, formed a family with Mary Jane Snell - that's the maiden name listed on several of their children's birth registrations - but [so far] I've been unable to find a record of their marriage. Mary Jane is listed as being from Plymouth. 

James and Mary Jane had at least seven children:

1. Mary Jane Beamer born Q2 1884 in Tiverton, mother's maiden name SNELL. (Died and was buried, on 13 Apr 1884, in Bampton.)
2. Ethel Anna Beamer (no civil reg), bap. 26 Apr 1885 in Bampton.
3. (Unnamed male child) Beamer born Q3 1886 in Tiverton, mother's maiden name SNELL. (Died in the same quarter, age 0.)
4. Sarah Jane Beamer born Q3 1887 in Tiverton, mother's name SMALE
5. Tom Beamer born Q3 1890 in Tiverton, mother's maiden name listed as SUELL. Bap. 3 Aug 1890 in Bampton.
6. Rosanna Beamer born Q1 1893 in Tiverton, mother's maiden name SNELL. Bap. as Rose Anna Beamer, on 30 Apr 1893, in Bampton. (Died, aged 16 months and was buried, on 22 Aug 1894, in Bampton.)
7. Mary Ann Beamer registered Q1 1896 in Tiverton, mother's maiden name listed as SNELL. Bap. 29 Dec 1895 in Bampton. (Died in Q2 1901, aged 5. Buried on 27 Apr 1901 in Bampton.)

There could, of course, be other births that I've missed, particularly given the number of discrepancies in the information, such as the mother's maiden name, which I attribute to either errors in transcription, or registrars writing down what they heard, that the parents probably couldn't have read to check.

Ethel Ann Beamer (3) "British King" from Liverpool

This curious record appeared in my searches for this family and relates to an Ethel Ann Beamer, age 3, sailing on the "SS British King" from Liverpool, arriving in Philadelphia on 29 May 1888. Their intended destination was Chicago. Taken alone, I'd have ignored this and assumed that this was another Ethel Ann Beamer entirely. HOWEVER, in the box at the top right, it says "Accompanied by" Sarah Jane 8 months and Mary Jane 30, both of which fit. I've also found an equivalent record for Sarah Jane and both children appear on the passenger list, along with Mary Jane. It's hard to imagine them being able to afford to go to the US - and come back again - but equally hard to imagine the combination of those three names and ages cropping up together more than once. It's a mystery.

In 1891, James Beamer (39) Agricultural Labourer, wife Mary (35), Ethel A (6), Sarah J (3) and Tom (0), were living in Briton Street, Bampton. 

On 16 Oct 1894, James and Mary Beamer were both charged and bailed, accused of "Wilfully neglecting Rose Anna Beamer, a girl under the age of 16 years, to wit, 16 months, in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering and injury to health, at Bampton, on 15 August 1894, and on various other dates." They were found not guilty and acquitted. Was their crime being poor? 

In 1901, James Beamer (48) General Labourer, Mary Jane (42), Ethel (15), Tom (9) and Mary A (5), were living on the Tiverton Road, Bampton. Daughter, Sarah Jane (14), was employed as a General domestic servant, in the household of Henry Early, Watchmaker and jeweller, at 12, Angel Hill, Tiverton. 

Ethel Ann Beamer married William David Cappell on 24 Apr 1907, in Bampton.

Then in 1911, we find the family has "emigrated" to Wales. James Beamer (53) from Bampton, Devon was employed as a Coal miner hewer and living at 4 Price Street, Pentre in the Rhondda Valley, Glamorganshire with Mary (49), Tom (20) also working as a Coal miner hewer; Ethel Cappell (25), William Cappell (25) Son-in-law, and grandchildren, William (3) and Ethel (1).

They returned to England, as Mary Beamer died, aged 70, in 1927 in Taunton, Somerset. Then James Beamer died, in 1931, aged 77, also in Taunton. (William and Ethel Cappell lived in Rowford, Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton in 1939, but I could find no further records for Sarah Jane after 1901 or Tom after 1911.)

4 Price Street, Pentre in the Rhondda Valley

James Land and Rose Anna Beamer

Church of St Michael and All Angels, Bampton

cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Rob Purvis - geograph.org.uk/p/6807505

James Land, widower, married Rose Anna Beamer, widow, on 19 Apr 1863 at the Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels in Bampton, Devon. 

James Land (b. 1828) was the son of John Land, Labourer, and in 1841, aged 13, was in his father's household at Gate Street, West, Bampton. His mother's given name was Loveday, born 1804 in Rackenford, Devon. I haven't been able to find a record of his parents' marriage, but the only relevant baptism that year in Rackenford, is for a Loveday Flew. If correct, this is the same Flew family of Rackenford that my 2x great-grandmother, Jane Middleton, married into. 

In 1851, James (23) was still at home, unmarried. But by 1861, James (32) was living as a Lodger in the household of Ann Beamer (38) from Norton, Somerset, along with four of her children: Mary (10), Alfred (8), James (6) and Lindy (2). 

The only one of those children for whom I can find a civil registration is James Beamer in 1855, which confirms that Rose Anna's maiden name was Smith. 

At the time of her marriage to James Land, Rose Anna Beamer had given her father's name as Isaac Smith, Labourer. I've found a record of a baptism on 1 Feb 1824 for a Mary Smith, daughter of Isaac and Hannah Smith at All Saints, Norton Fitzwarren, who may have been her sister.

James Land, therefore, must have been both married and widowed between the 1851 and 1861 censuses. There is a marriage of a James Land to a Jane Flew in 1854 and the death of a Jane Land, aged 30, in 1856, which, by process of elimination, looks like it might relate. They were probably cousins. 

Yes, the family tree of my Devon ancestors would be in the form of a circle. Or as 'him indoors' says, a very complicated monkey puzzle tree! LOL

Beamer is a surname found in Clayhanger right back to the 1600s and probably still. In 1851 there was a James Beamer (58), who's a likely in-law.

With a two year old in 1861, one might assume that Rose Anna (Ann) had only fairly recently been widowed, but the only record of a death that may potentially be that of her husband - I haven't [yet] been able to find a record of this earlier marriage, but son Alfred Beamer's marriage gives his father's name as James Beamer - is that for a James Beamer, aged 37, in the last quarter of 1854. That would make James Beamer, born 1855, a posthumous child. Although, it would make Lindy Beamer the child of another liaison. Not exactly unheard of. 

John and Rose Anna had at least three further children together: 

1. George Land Beamer born Q4 1862 (died Q1 1863, aged 0)
2. Loveday Jane Land born 1864, in Bampton, Devon
3. John Land born 3 Feb 1866, in Stoodleigh, Devon

John Land, aged approximately 90, died in 1866. This age would fit with James' father and would explain why he named his son John in the same quarter.

In 1871, in High Street, Bampton, we find James Land (41) and Rosannah (46), with just Loveday J (7) and John (5). Not one of Rose Anna's previous family are living with their mother. It's not the first time I've seen a first family "disappear" when their parent remarries either. Rose Anna's daughter, Mary (b. 1850), I've been unable to find any further mention of; Alfred Bimmer (sic) (19) was working as a [Farm] Servant for Thomas Chave in Morebath; James Beamer (16) Masons Labourer was lodging, with Henry Beamer (21) Ag Lab, elsewhere in Bampton; there are no other records at all of Lindy Beamer (b. 1859).

In 1881, at Westbrook Cottage, Bampton, at a guess, on Westbrook Farm (PDF), were James Land (54) Ag Lab; Ann Land (58); Jane Land (18) Domestic (Out of Service) - just given birth; John Land (16) Gen Labourer; Henry Beames (sic) (8) Grandson and Rosana Land (0) Granddaughter. 

Loveday Jane Land married Frederick James Stone on 10 Oct 1881.

James Land died, aged 56, in the first quarter of 1884.

There is a death of a Rose Anne Land in 1889, with her age estimated as 40. This would be a 20 year discrepancy, if typical lie about a woman's age. 

Frederick James Stone and Loveday Jane Land

Bampton (Devon), Church of St Michael & All Angels
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Ben Brooksbank - geograph.org.uk/p/5006885

Frederick James Stone (b. 1854 in Stawley, Somerset), the eldest child of Henry Stone and Mary Ridgeway, married the delightfully-named, Loveday Jane Land (b. 1864), daughter of James Land and Rose Anna Beamer. Frederick (26) and Loveday (17) were married on 10 Oct 1881 at her Parish Church of St Michael & All Angels, Bampton in the County of Devon. Loveday's father, James Land, added his mark as one of the witnesses to the marriage.

In 1871, Frederick (16) was already working, as a servant, described as an 'Ag Lab Indoor', for Henry Oxenham at Chevithorne, Tiverton. The mind boggles at how you do agricultural labour indoors, but I think they probably mean lives inside the farmer's main accommodation, rather than outside in a cottage. Loveday was at home with her parents in High Street, Bampton, Devon.

Farm buildings, Sellake
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Derek Harper - geograph.org.uk/p/2194600

In 1891, Frederick James (36) and Loveday (27) were living at Noblelimdrance, Rock, Halberton. Listed next on the census is Thomas Chave at West Sellake - Sellake farm, previously owned by Richard Chave, is a 16th Century Grade II* Listed Building in Halberton, Devon. Frederick's father worked for the Chave family at Widhayes in Uplowman, so I think we should entertain the possibility that this was the farm at which Frederick then worked as an Agricultural Labourer. And they've begun to acquire quite a brood: 

1. Rose Anna Land Stone born 2 Aug 1880, bap. 13 Aug 1882 in Uplowman
2. Bessie Ann Stone born 18 Jul 1882, bap. 13 Aug 1882 in Uplowman
3. Loveday Jane Stone born 6 Apr 1884, bap. 27 Apr 1884 in Uplowman
4. Mary Ann Stone born 1886 in Uffculme (seem to have missed baptism)
5. Frederick James Stone born 27 Mar 1888, bap. 27 May 1888 in Uplowman
6. John Charles Stone born 18 Jun 1890, bap. 27 Jul 1890 in Uplowman
7. Florence May Stone born 26 Sep 1894, bap. 18 Oct 1894 in Halberton
8. Laura Alice Stone born 9 Apr 1898, bap. 22 May 1898 in Uplowman
9. Irene Venetta Stone born 15 Jul 1900, bap. 19 Aug 1900 in Uplowman
10. Stanley William Stone born 7 Jan 1903, bap. 15 Feb 1903 in Uplowman
11. Phillip Alfred Stone born 14 Jun 1909, bap. 11 Jul 1909 in Uplowman

Bridge over the River Lowman on the road to Chevithorne from Stagg Mill.

cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Lewis Clarke - geograph.org.uk/p/1800621

In 1901, Frederick (46), Carter on Farm, and Loveday (37) with John Charles (10), Florence May (6), Laura Alice (2) and Irene Venetta (0) are living at Stagg Mill, Uplowman. It is from here that their older daughters marry.

By 1911, they've gone full circle back to Berry, Chevithorne. With Frederick (56), Farm Labourer, and Loveday (47), are Frederick James (23), Florence May (16), Irene Venetta (Minnie) (10), Stanley William (8) and Phillip Alfred (1).

Frederick James Stone died on 21 Sep 1916, aged 62. Loveday Jane Stone died, on 21 Apr 1938, aged 74, in Bishops Lydeard, Somerset.

Mid Devon : Entrance to Berry Farm
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Lewis Clarke - geograph.org.uk/p/1214746

James Ridgeway and Mary Ann Lock and James Marsh

Ashbrittle Village with Court Place Farm (foreground left)
Photo © Lewis Clarke (cc-by-sa/2.0)

James Ridgeway and Mary Ann Lock, a pair of my 3rd great-grandparents, married, on 29 Apr 1833, at the Church of St John the Baptist, Ashbrittle. Witnesses to this marriage were Henry Vickery and Elizabeth Webber.

The couple appear to have seven children, with records existing only for the baptisms of first two children; Mary in 1833 and James in 1835. Once civil registration had been introduced (in 1837), there are no more baptism records for the subsequent five children, but neither are there civil registrations for most (only for the sixth child, John, in 1847), just their listings on the census.

1. Mary Ridgeway bap. 28 Dec 1833 at St John the Baptist, Ashbrittle
2. James Ridgeway bap. 25 Oct 1835 at St John the Baptist, Ashbrittle
3. Jane Ridgeway born 1839
4. Harriet Ridgeway born 1841 
5. Thomas Ridgeway born 1844
6. John Ridgeway born 1847 (Died aged 4, buried 6 Aug 1851 at St John the Baptist, Ashbrittle)
7. William Ridgeway born 1850 (Died aged 29, see below.)

In 1841, James Ridgway (32) and Ann Ridgeway (33), were living in Ashbrittle Village, with children; Mary (7), James (5), Jane (2) and Harriot (0). 

Appley Court Farm
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Roger Cornfoot - geograph.org.uk/p/3819363

And in 1851, still living in Ashbrittle Village, we find James (45) and Ann (45), with Harriot (10), Thomas (7), John (4) and William (1). Mary (19) was a Servant of William Sweet at Appley Court, Appley, Stawley; James (15) had also left home and was working as a Servant in the household of Robert Venn at Little Tadbeer Farm, Ashbrittle; while Jane Ridgeway (12), was a Servant in the household of Robert Johns of Kittisford at Stawley, Somerset. 

James Ridgeway died in 1854, said to be aged around 44, and was buried on 18 Jun 1854 at St John the Baptist, Ashbrittle. 

In 1859 there are banns of a marriage, in Kittisford, between James Mash (sic) and Mary Ann Ridgway (sic). The banns for the same marriage read in Tiverton correctly identify him as James Marsh and her as Mary Ann Ridgeway. 

James Marsh, son of Richard and Mary Marsh, was baptised in Bampton, Devon on 31 Jul 1814. On 22 Mar 1840, James had married Mary Cruwys - also a widow - in Morebath. They had a child, Mary Marsh, born 1841 and that year were living at Exbridge, Morebath, along with three children from Mary's previous marriage. In 1851, they were still there with Mary (9) and three more children Elizabeth (7), Martha (5) and James (2). Mary Marsh died in 1858. 

In 1861, James Marsh (46), Anne [Mary Ann] Marsh (51) and William Ridgeway (11) were living at 'Cottage, Bampton Down, Bampton'. By 1861, Thomas Ridgeway (18), was employed as a Carter at Holcombe Barton, Holcombe Rogus. (Holcombe Barton Farm was part of the Manor of Holcombe Rogus of Holcombe Court, "the finest Tudor house in Devon.")

In 1871, still at 'Cottage, Bampton Down, Bampton', were James Marsh (60) and Mary Ann Marsh (62). William Ridgeway (21) Postman, was a lodger in Ashbrittle, in the household of William Cude (64) Carpenter & Builder. 

James Marsh died and was buried on 3 Jul 1871, in Bampton.

William Ridgeway died, aged 29, and was buried on 15 Mar 1879, in Uplowman.

Administration of the Personal Estate of William Ridgway late of Uplowman in the County of Devon Letter Carrier a Batchelor who died 9 Mar 1879 at Uplowman was granted at Exeter to Mary Ann Marsh of Uplowman Widow the Mother and only Next of Kin.

In 1881, Mary Ann Mash (sic) (74), Widow, is living with her son, Thomas Ridgeway, in Whitnage, Uplowman and is listed as his mother. In 1891, Mary A Marsh (83), was living with her daughter, Harriet Were (sic) (50), in Chettiscombe. Mary Ann Marsh died, in 1894, at the age of 86.